Kenneth Gilbert Adjei - All About Ghana's New Defence Minister

• President Mahama appointed Kenneth Gilbert Adjei as Ghana's new Defence Minister, filling a post vacant since Edward Omane Boamah's death
• Adjei previously served as deputy defence minister under Mahama from 2015 to 2017 before returning to the same ministry
• YEN.com.gh takes a look at the life, career, and biography of Ghana's new Defence Minister, Honourable Kenneth Gilbert Adjei

President John Dramani Mahama has named Works, Housing and Water Resources Minister Kenneth Gilbert Adjei as Ghana's defence minister on Friday, filling a post left vacant for a year after the death of Edward Omane Boamah in a military helicopter crash.

Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson had been acting defence minister since August 2025, when Omane Boamah was among those killed in the crash.

Kenneth Gilbert Adjei, 47, returns to a ministry he knows. Mahama appointed him deputy defence minister in March 2015; he was vetted on April 15, approved on May 14 and sworn in on May 18 of that year, serving until the National Democratic Congress handed power to Nana Akufo-Addo's government on Jan. 7, 2017.

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All about Defence Minister Hon Kenneth Adjei

Born Sept. 20, 1978, Adjei hails from Trede in the Ashanti Region and attended Opoku Ware School, where he served as dining hall prefect.

He earned a bachelor's degree in marketing from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration and an executive MBA in marketing from the University of Ghana Business School.

In 2022, he completed a master's degree in peace, security and intelligence management at the University of Professional Studies, Accra, and has spent years researching defence strategies to weaken terrorist organisations.

Before politics, Adjei worked in insurance, moving from business development officer at CDH Insurance to broker relations and marketing roles at Phoenix Insurance and Benefits. He was program director and remains a board executive of the Lordina Foundation, founded by former first lady Lordina Mahama, and previously sat on the board of the National Lottery Authority.

A longtime NDC member who belonged to the party's Tertiary Education Institution Network (TEIN) while at GIMPA, Adjei was appointed works and housing minister in February 2025. At his Jan. 28, 2025, vetting, he pledged to use public-private partnerships to attract investment and push a district housing policy for underserved areas.

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Ahmed Ibrahim, previously minister for local government, chieftaincy and religious affairs, replaces Adjei at works and housing. Mahama also nominated Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings for environment, science and technology, while Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga takes the local government portfolio.

Adjei is married with three children and lists music and golf among his hobbies.

Below is the Facebook page naming Kenneth Gilbert Adjei as Ghana's new defence minister.

President Mahama names Mahama Ayariga local government minister

Previously, YEN.com.gh reported that President John Dramani Mahama named Mahama Ayariga as the new minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs.

The appointment was contained in a statement from the presidency issued on Friday, August 7, 2026.

Source: YEN.com.gh